Chams Holding Sees Strong First Half Performance as Identity Infrastructure Remains Key Revenue Driver

Chams Holding Company Plc, a major player in Nigeria’s identity verification, card production, and payments infrastructure sector, reported a 13% increase in profit after tax to ₦473 million for the first half of 2026. While revenue experienced a slight decline compared to the previous year, the company demonstrated improved operational efficiency with higher gross profits.

The company generated ₦9.79 billion in revenue between January and June 2026, down from ₦9.88 billion in H1 2025, representing a 0.9% decrease. However, Chams’ gross profit surged by 30.9% to ₦2.57 billion, indicating improved profitability per revenue unit.

Core Businesses Drive Performance

The majority of Chams’ revenue continues to come from its foundational identity and card businesses:

• Card Products: Generated ₦4.32 billion (44.1% of total revenue)
• Biometrics Services: Contributed ₦3.46 billion (35.3%)

These two segments combined accounted for approximately 79% of the company’s H1 2026 earnings.

Investment in Physical Infrastructure Paying Off

Chams has been expanding its physical manufacturing capacity with significant investments:

• CardCentre personalised over 2.6 million cards in Q1 2026 alone
• A new card manufacturing plant commenced operations in May
• Total investment in property, plant and equipment increased from ₦2.86 billion to ₦4.91 billion

This follows a substantial 573% jump in card sales during the full year 2025.

Efficiency Gains Offset Higher Costs

Despite administrative expenses rising by 70.6% to ₦2.05 billion, Chams’ overall profitability improved due to:

• A cost of sales reduction of 8.8%, from ₦7.92 billion to ₦7.22 billion
• A significant increase in finance income, primarily from investments at the holding-company level (up from ₦18 million to ₦539 million)

While its fintech offerings like payment gateways and BVN verification services represent a smaller portion of current revenue, Chams’ role as an infrastructure provider remains critical to Nigeria’s digital economy.